Faded Memories
by LuciferDragon
Summary: Who is that boy with the crazy hair style? And why does he also look like an Egyptian? Why can Jonouchi never win? And why won't Anzu ever shut up about friendship? M/F
1. Chapter 1

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 1**

"I'm telling you, Duelist Kingdom is real! And Battle City, and that Grand Prix!"

Nephthys waved her tan-skinned hand absently. "Jonouchi, I'm not so sure you're on the right train of thought. You know Duel Monsters is just some silly game. I've told you time and again there is no Kaiba Corporation. Seto's just in your year."

"But—"

"But nothing." Nephthys looked at her friend in a concerned manner, pausing in indulging in the cereal she had gotten for breakfast. Not much hot breakfast at school was tolerable, so it was enough to stick with the safe cold cereal. "Look, you worry me sometimes. These visions and stories you create—"

"I'm telling you it's real! It has to be."

She focused her hazel gaze on his brown ones. "Your English improved a lot over summer."

"What does that have to do with the situation at hand?" He rubbed both hands through his messy blonde hair, mussing it even further. "Argh! Forget it." He stumbled through a rant in his native Japanese.

"Woah, wait. You're in Los Angeles, Joe. You're not in Japan anymore." She opened her carton of orange juice. "Though to make things even, I'll start ranting in Coptic."

"You scare me, with those hieroglyphics. Oh no, Neph, don't throw the curvy stick at me in words!"

She quirked a brow, amusement in her eyes. "You've forgotten already it's an ankh, a symbol of life. Always seen on Anubis."

"Ah shut your trap, I know." He took a bite out of the sausage wrapped in pancakes. The newest breakfast trend, though it was just a morning version of a corndog. "These aren't bad, actually. Could use some syrup."

"I'll stick to cold stuff. Lemme see your schedule." She made a grabbing motion for the crumpled paper by his tray.

"Why? You're a year under me; there won't be many classes we have together again." Even so, he handed her the paper, which she smoothed out on the table in front of her.

Her face brightened. "Well I'll be seeing you in fifth period every day. History of the Ancient World. Ah, and Statistics in 7th."

"What a pain… you're helping me in that math course, I hope you know."

She laughed through a raspberry. "Bull I am. I'm as bad at math as you." Her attention was caught as she glanced over Jonouchi's shoulder, seeing a teen around her age leaving the cafeteria. Sure his semi-tight black clothing caught her eye, and his tousled red, black, and blonde locks didn't exactly blend him in with the crowd, but it was his skin that caused her to stare. "That's odd. Who's he?"

Jonouchi turned around and his jaw dropped. "It can't be."

"Can't be who?" Another girl said as she sat beside Nephthys. The Egyptian clearly flinched, making Jonouchi stifle a laugh.

"'Morning, Anzu," Nephthys said through clenched teeth. "And how many friendship speeches will I be expecting this year?"

Anzu huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Her clothing was still the same top of the line and always in style stuff. A nice pale yellow blouse covered her chest, while short-shorts covered her until her mid thighs. She hooked a leg over the other, showing off her platform shoes and calf-high socks. "I still believe it was our trust and confidence in each other that got us to pass. We've got a special bond that just can't be broken."

Nephthys covered her head with her arms. "It's too early for your spiels." She looked at Jonouchi, who was gazing back at where the curious looking boy had left moments before. "Joe? Do you know something about him?"

Jonouchi shook his head. "It'd tie in with what I've been trying to get through to you guys for a year now. I guess everyone's either lost their memory, or it was one trippy dream."

"My money is on the dream." She pushed her tray away and put her black hair up in a ponytail, hiding the purple streaks that broke through the monotonous lack of shade. "Honda's late. I thought he started driving that bike of his."

"He did," Anzu said, picking off the remains of Nephthys' breakfast. "Traffic might just be jammed up. First day back and all. Friends trying to find other friends, you know how important that is to close friends…"

"What'd I just say about spiels?" Nephthys only tolerated Anzu because Jonouchi and Honda were her friends. She sighed. "Anzu, let me have a look at your classes."

"Sure."

Nephthys took it, and put her face in her palm. All over it, the classes were highlighted in luminescent colors, and hearts decorated the ones that she had with her friends. But after looking over it, she did a double take. "Seems like we're not in the same class. Any of them." She snapped her fingers, adding in a sarcastic damn.

Anzu seemed to believe it as a real show of disappointment, for she said, "Well look, we at least have the same lunch period."

"Oh joy."

As soon as the words left her lips, the cafeteria doors burst open, allowing a winded Honda to enter the building.

"Oi, Honda-kun. You're late," Jonouchi said, smirking. "A little sad if I can beat you here in the morning."

"Oh hush up." Honda slammed his helmet down on the table. "My old man made me stay up late last night doing chores. I slept in." And it showed. His white button-up shirt was half tucked in his jeans, and his hair was windswept with a mix of helmet hair and the breeze from the bike.

"That's my usual excuse."

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of their next block-schedule year.

"Ah, off to creative writing for me then," Nephthys said, putting her bag on and picking up her tray. "Joe, I'll see you in 5th. Honda, I can't look at your sched now, so we'll see if you pop up at all. Do you remember what lunch period you have?"

"Second, I think."

"Alright, you have the same as us. Same meeting place, right?" Each nodded in agreement. "See you all later then."

"Sayonara," Jonouchi said, waving at her as she dumped her tray in the trash.

She smiled. _There's still a few English things he needs, but he's doing fine. As are the rest of them._ She'd never admit it right out to his face, or any of them, to be honest, but she had had a crush on Jonouchi. At least for awhile. But after a bit of time, she grew out of the crush, finding herself interested in boys that were more like her.

Nephthys found her classroom with ease, it being her second time in the course, just on a different level. "Good morning Mr. Reming."

"Ah, Miss Sethk. Will we be seeing more of your Mythological romances this year?"

She blushed, taking her usual seat. "I decided to scrap that project. It just got too cliché. I want something new. Hoping I can figure out a new topic soon."

Mr. Reming smiled, having it reach up to his blue eyes. "You have a creative imagination. I'm sure you'll discover a muse soon enough."

"I hope so."

He moved on to greet some other students, allowing her to take out her sketch book and start designing a new character. _Maybe I can get a story out of my creation…_ Before she knew it, she had a rushed and rough sketch of a male. Though the rest of it made her blush and flip the book over. It held a striking resemblance to the things she had seen on the boy from earlier. _Nonsense._

The late bell rang, signaling that everyone should be in class by then.

"Well then. If that's all." The teacher sat on the edge of his desk. "My name is Mr. Reming. I see some new faces mixed in with the old. Here, I will not stunt your creativity. Your mind is your limit. Just, ah, please keep your volunteer pieces PG-13. Don't need the principal to walk in while someone's reading off a steamy romantic scene. Like last year." His gaze flicked to Nephthys, who shrunk in her seat a bit.

She had gotten in a bit of trouble for that, being accused of writing pornography. Some people just didn't know the fine line between porn, and romance. Luckily, her parents were away at the time, so she was able to erase the message on the answering machine, saving her hide from utmost humiliation with her family.

Mr. Reming was about to continue, when the door swung open. Though the occupant of the doorway made Nephthys' jaw go slack.


	2. Chapter 2

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 2**

"Sorry I'm late," Atem said, closing the door behind him, the chain holding the Millennium Puzzle chinking quietly. "I just started here, so it's hard to find anything."

"Understandable." The teacher looked over the remaining seating, and then nodded to an empty spot next to a girl with tanned skin. "The seat next to Nephthys is open, if you like, Mr. …?"

"Mutou."

The man looked at his roster. "Atem?"

"Yes."

"All right, I marked you here. Please have a seat; I'm going over basics before I hand out the course syllabus."

Atem nodded before slipping off his bag, sitting down next to the girl who hid her eyes from his view. Not in an attempt to pay attention, but out of what seemed to be embarrassment.

"As I was saying," Mr. Reming said, resuming his spot, "please keep your works PG-13. I hate to censor you, but this isn't college. Higher ups are not as understanding of creativity as them." He clasped his hands together. "Right! Well while I go make copies of the course outline, since I ran a bit late today, at your tables, discus any and all ideas of what you'd like to do this year. I do, of course, expect you to act like adults."

_Which never happens. _Atem snorted, watching Mr. Reming leave the room. Almost as soon as the door clicked closed, the quiet class erupted into a loud roar and students visited from table to table, discussing a variety of things they did over summer. Shopping, movies, even a few guys talked of their sexual conquests.

"Typical," he heard the girl next to him say.

"… Neph-something, right?"

"I'll understand if you don't really want to strike a conversation with me." She flipped to a new page in her sketch book, working out a rough sketch of a human head. "And it's Nephthys, by the way. Nef-this."

"No, was just going to ask if they're usually this barbaric. And I'm Atem."

She didn't look up from her work. "You don't have to lie. Some form of question must have come to mind when you saw no one near me."

"A bit, I'll admit. Not for the hostile reasons you're thinking of though." He crossed his arms over the black shirt with ripped sleeves he wore. "You seem sane, over most of these lifeforms."

She smiled a bit, still working. "In an insane world, only the insane are sane. That's my mantra." She side-glanced him. "Are you an Egyptian like I?"

"Born and raised there. We just came to America a few years ago. We've been traveling around a lot, and my parents finally decided to dump me on my grandfather."

Nephthys finally put the book down, showing a decent rough outline of what she wanted to draw. "So were your parents on a god-high when they named you? If so, at least yours changed the spelling a bit."

"You're speaking of Atum?"

"Yeah, sun god, second to Ra. You know what I mean."

He looked thoughtful. "Never thought about it. What about yours? Being sister to Isis, Queen of Hell, wife of Set."

"My parents are just oddballs like that. So here I am, stuck with Nephthys. Friends call me Neph."

He took a look at the picture she had drawn of a male figure, taking a slack pose. "You have talent."

"Huh? Oh." She cast her gaze downward. "It's nothing big. Just something I like doing." Nephthys shook her head. "But anyway, down to business. What would you like to do in this class?"

"Ladies first."

Her hazel eyes flashed amusement. "Fine then. I'd like to start something new. My other attempt at Egyptian romance didn't wo— What's so funny?"

Atem stopped his laughter, a few giggles bursting out here and there. "Greeks were the romantics, not Egyptians."

"Well yeah. That's why I wanted to try to make it a romance. Something no one has seen. Greek and Roman gods are overdone, and so is the symbol of ankh and Anubis. Dunno about you, but I'd rather read something happy for once, instead of death."

"Says the girl named after a watcher of the dead."

She huffed. "Not like I chose this name. Can't afford to go get it changed either."

"He's coming back!" one of the kids acting as look-out said. In a big scramble, the other students returned to their seats, starting up the actual assignment given.

"… As I said, typical." She reached for the sketch book again. "What are your plans?"

"We'll see when I get there."

She shot him a confused glance as Mr. Reming came back with a stack of copies. "And now duckies, we begin the fun."


	3. Chapter 3

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 3**

Mr. Reming decided to dedicate the rest of the class to group brain storming, not knowing why so little of his students failed to come up with an inkling of an idea in the ten minutes he was gone. "Split into groups, from two classmates up till four. No more, no less." A hand went up in the back. "Er, you have a question?"

A girl with strawberry blonde hair and make-up fit for a movie star was the one who raised her hand. She bounced in her seat a little, giving the breasts that nearly overlapped her too small shirt a tiny jiggle. "Um, yeah, like so, what if a group of two, and, like, a group of four just, like, happen to help each other?"

Nephthys put her face in her hands. "Please do not make this a Holy Grail moment."

The girl in the back snapped her attention to the front desk where Nephthys and Atem sat. "Uh, I totally didn't ask you."

"Actually, would you care to explain your comment?" Mr. Reming said, amusement twinkling in his eye.

"Well… common sense." Nephthys held up her fingers. "Two through four is acceptable. No more, no less. One, is no good, unless proceeding on to two, three, or four. Five, is outright, and six, unheard of. To put it into Monty Python's terminology."

"And as I said, totally didn't ask you." She wrinkled her nose. "Go wrap up a dead ruler."

Instead of getting angry, as the girl had meant her to do, Nephthys smiled. "Not only pharaohs were mummified. Cats and wives and servants were too. There were even some that were wrapped up alive." She grinned at the girl's face that was paling. "Did you know how they did it too?" Without waiting for a response she said, "Well, the major organs were removed one by one and put into jars, except for the heart and the kidneys. Then, they'd shove a hook up the person's nose, breaking the cartilage to get to the brain."

"Ok, Neph, you can stop right there," Mr. Reming said. "Sarah, that was wrong to insult her like that. Really, it was wrong to insult her at all."

"Sorry," Sarah mumbled.

Mr. Reming cleared his throat. "Now then, break into groups. If I see any more than four, someone's gotta move."

There was a bustle of noise as chairs and desks were move around to accommodate the students.

Nephthys side-glanced Atem. "Uh, hey, I'll understand if you don't want me partnering with you."

"I told you already, you seem the most sane here. And you know how to defend yourself properly. It's a nice change."

She smiled. "Well all right." She used the page she had been sketching on prior to the mummification discussion to write down some notes. "Ok, well I'd like to dig up some ancient Egyptian love story, and go off that." She flushed a bit. "Kinda cheesy, huh?"

"Not at all. Though you won't find much apart from the gods and their incest."

She scrunched up her nose. "Y'know, near every religion is based off a story of incest. Says a lot."

He quirked a brow. "You're just now realizing this?"

"Not really. But ancient Egypt is mystifying enough that just the history can make up for the screwy god system." She shook her head. "But enough about what I want to do, what about you? There has to be some reason you took up this class."

"Well I do have ideas. Mostly short ones. I'd like to figure out how to get them out of my head in the form of legible text."

"Ah, so a series of short stories. Those really help if someone is stuck on a major project. Any set characters for them, or themes?"

"Random characters that I don't think about long enough to fully form them."

She crossed her legs, pulling her boots under her. "Character development is key. Before you work on your short stories, you need to figure out who the people are inside your head. What they're trying to tell you to do."

"Well one of them is saying 'Kill Sarah' but I don't think that's a very good trait to have."

She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "It isn't, but it's entertaining. She's just one of those stuck up whores that get what they want by showing off their tits." She thought. "Well wait, whores get paid."

He chuckled and looked back at the girl. "Seems like she gets paid well enough." All around her were the rest of the guys in the class. They had it set up to where their two groups were right on either side of her, glancing over every so often, hoping to catch her eye.

"Don't let the clothes fool you. That's all Daddy's money. You should see her car. A fucking _pink_ 2006 Chevy Camaro. Who paints their Camaros pink? It's a damn eyesore."

"I've seen yellow, from the time I've been here."

"Those are the people who bought the car solely to have a Bumblebee car."

"Because of the yellow?" He tilted his head.

Her hazel eyes widened. "You've never seen the new live-action Transformers?"

"Well no. Never heard it existed."

"Buddy you're gonna enjoy being friends with me then."

Atem smiled. "I just might."

The rest of their class period they bonded, sharing likes, dislikes, and interests.

"Ok, something's gotta be wrong here," he laughed. "Our music compatibility is through the roof."

"And I can't believe you're just a week older than me. That's so crazy." She eyed the pyramid around his neck. "So what's that? Clearly Egyptian. Eye of Horus, and a pyramid. Though an upside-down one."

"It's called the Millennium Puzzle. It's been in my possession for as long as I can remember. I know it's around three thousand years old."

Her eyes became the size of saucers. "The oldest item I have is a staff that's around two thousand years old. A family heirloom."

"Nothing to be ashamed of. Most families have sold off the items of their ancestors." He was cut off by the bell signaling the end of class.

"Been an hour and a half already?" She stood, gathering the things she had taken from her bag as they talked. "I gotta get to the other side of campus. Graphics class and all. Gotta run, sorry." She pulled her bag on and waved back at him before leaving.

"Ah, bye…" He started to gather up his own things when a throat being cleared behind him made him pause.

"So you got stuck with the geek. I feel bad for you." Sarah flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "The school always has a welcome back dance the first Friday we return. Would you like to make a name for yourself and go with me?" She attempted a seducing smile while the other guys around her gapped.

Atem curled his lip at the girl before him. "Thanks for the information, but I have another girl in mind." He smiled as her gaze faltered. "One who doesn't need to have her assets on display to make an impression." With a nod of his head he left, trying to find his way to his next class.

Sarah chewed on the inside of her lip. "We'll see who you end up with."


	4. Chapter 4

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 4  
**

Nephthys held her flashdrive between her teeth as she stowed her sketchbook back into her bag. "Good thing history's not far away…" With a tug she pulled the zipper closed, giving a small triumphant laugh when it behaved.

"I think it's saying something if you speak to yourself," a voice said behind her, causing her to turn around. She bit back a retort though when she saw who it was.

"Oh, Atem. No, it would say something if I answered myself." She pulled the bag back on, walking with him down the hall. "So where are you heading?"

"History."

"Ancient World?"

"I believe so. Whatever class is in this hallway that teaches of things long since past."

She glanced at her schedule. "Mr. Mahado. Hm, think he's new this year. Ah well. Let's hope he's not a boring old bag of bones."

To her surprise, a young teacher, in his late twenties sat behind a podium, sorting through his notes. His long brunette hair was tied back, and even though lack of sleep was evident in his brown eyes, he refused to show it.

Atem led them to the back of the classroom in the far right corner, as far away from a certain blonde-haired girl as he could get. Nephthys threw a confused glance at him as they sat, but didn't ask on the seating arrangement. "Jonouchi is in this class too," she said without thinking as she took out a spiral-bound notebook with the image of Venom on the cover.

"Your boyfriend?"

She couldn't help but burst out laughing, catching the attention of a few students also in the back with them, as well as Sarah. She pinched her nose closed to stifle the giggles. "No way, Jose. Not that guy." As soon as she had her composure back, she put on a meek smile. "I admit I had a crush on the guy for awhile. It was cute, seeing him stumble over his English when he got really excited on a topic. But I outgrew it fast. Now he's just a friend. Nothing more or less."

"Are you even seeing anyone?"

She shook her head. "My fields of interest don't help my social life too much." She looked up to see a winded Jonouchi run into class, stammering a mix of Japanese and English apologies.

"_Sumima_— er, I mean I'm sorry _Sens_— Teacher! Um…"

Mr. Mahado smiled and waved him into class. "The first day is acceptable for all levels. But after that, I must lock the door like all others in the faculty. _Wakarimasu_?"

Shocked for a second, he nodded before answering with a simple, "_Hai_."

Nephthys giggled behind her hand as he approached. "And you still manage to show up to class late."

"Ah hush up." He took a double take at Atem. "Yugi?"

Atem arched a brow. "Who? You must have me mistaken for someone else. I'm Atem, and I take it you're Jonouchi?"

Jonouchi flopped into his seat, feeling deflated with defeat. "It's no use."

Nephthys glanced at her friend again, but was unable to say anything as the young teacher stood behind his podium, still not looking completely at his students. "_Yii em hotep_. This is History of the Ancient World and if you're not supposed to be here, please kindly leave my classroom." When no one stood to leave, he continued on. "I know Ancient World is supposed to cover just basics on each of the important and well known dates in our history of existence, but what will you really learn by jumping through each different culture, something else to memorize each week?" He flipped off the lights and turned on his projector, showing a fading tablet with Egyptian hieroglyphics. "Can anyone tell me what this tablet says?" He grinned, not expecting anyone to know it. "For— Miss, you know what this says?"

Nephthys had raised her hand slightly. "Yeah, kind of," her meek self said.

"Mummy-freak knows what it says, go figure," Sarah said up front, getting snickers in response.

Mr. Mahado sent a glare her way, shutting the students up immediately. "Miss, can you tell me what it says?"

"_Ankh udja seneb_ is part of it. Roughly translated, it says, 'Long live the king, the last Pharaoh. The savior of us all.'" She furrowed her brow. "But the name of the king is missing."

Mr. Mahado's eyes widened. "Very good… Erm, let me take this time to call roll."

Atem nudged her arm. "Looks like you unnerved him."

Her eyes were still narrowed, staring at the carvings in the stone. "This can't be right. Why would they not want the name of the last king known?"

"What's wrong about it?" Jonouchi asked.

"Pharaohs were god to the people of the city. A representative, if you will. To not have the name of the most worshipped being of that time in that location… it just can't be right."

At the podium, Mahado's fingers paused. _So it's begun. _He looked back to the corner as he read off, "Atem Mutou?" Getting a confirmation nod, he moved on a few names, pausing at Nephthys'. _Both are here?_ He glanced back at her and frowned. _Of course that's how she was able to read what the tablet said. Shadi, the pieces are falling back into place. _"Nephthys Sethk?" He finished off the roll, and went back to the tablet. "Roughly translated, what she said is exactly right.

"Egyptian Pharaohs were seen as god incarnate to the people they ruled. So there's the million dollar question: Why remove the name of the one who did such great things, apparently?" He flipped forward to the next slide. A photograph of hieratic writing on papyrus was shown, and Nephthys took in a sharp breath.

"What is it?" Jonouchi asked.

"A love poem?" Atem said, looking closely at the writing.

Nephthys glanced at him as Mr. Mahado spoke again. "Romance wasn't just for the Greeks. This is a poem of a man confessing his love for a woman. The carbon dating on this, and the fact it was on papyrus, leads the man to be only one plausible person. Not many commoners could read and write. Even fewer could afford papyrus. Leading the writer of this to be the last nameless pharaoh." He pointed to a line, towards the beginning. "He's speaking of his love of a commoner. A servant girl residing in his domain. In those times it wasn't unheard of for a king to fall in love with someone of non-royal blood, but it was rare for the marriage to go public. But even then, kings had multiple wives. Whether the kings loved them or not, it didn't change the fact he could have the option of more than one." His finger slid down a few lines. "But this king, however, wanted no other. Loosely translated for you all, he says 'I'd row against the Nile for you and you alone, for just your love and no one else'."

"Does anyone know who the commoner was?" a girl up front asked.

"There were rumors made by the archaeologists who found the document, but none are certain yet. We may never know who it was, or who the last pharaoh even was." At this, he turned the lights back on and the projector's effect dimmed, leaving the photo of the document still slightly visible. "As you can see, I will be teaching you all only one subject, and that is the History of Ancient Egypt. Allow me to pass around the syllabus and we can cover that the rest of class."

Atem's eyes never wavered from the photograph as he slowly read the words. Nephthys too kept looking at it, a sad look crossing her eyes. "It was forbidden…"

Jonouchi looked at them both, confused. "But didn't Sensei just say it wasn't uncommon?"

"He did, but it was also rare for it to go public, as he said." A sorrowful smile crept on her lips. "But despite that, they each went out of their way to see each other. Every night they'd meet, dodging the guards, risking their lives in the open, just to be with one another."

Atem nodded. "That's the gist of it."

"You can read it too?"

"Fluently, yes."

She eyed him warily. "Who are you exactly?"

"An Egyptian whose parents decided he should learn the language of his ancestors. The same I'm assuming for you."

She nodded, biting at her lip.

The rest of class they introduced themselves, and were given an assignment to read up about the gods and goddesses and pick their favorites to discuss the next day. The bell rang, releasing them to lunch. Once the last student left his classroom, Mahado reached into his jacket, removing his Ring.

Nephthys sat between Atem and Jonouchi at lunch, across from Anzu and Honda, barely listening to Anzu's chatter. She sipped her tomato soup and picked at her salad while the foreign girl blabbered on. She barely registered that her name was being called.

"Neph, Neph… Nephthys!"

"Hm? Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I'm saying Honda got the job as DJ for this Friday and we should all go to support him. Wouldn't that be great, all going as friends to cheer on another friend at his job."

Nephthys rolled her eyes. "You know I don't do dances. That whole 'bumping and grinding dry humping' dancing isn't for me."

"That's why Honda's DJing," Anzu said with excitement. "He's taking requests of all his friends beforehand, so it'll be like a friend's insider joke thing. Isn't it great?"

"Watch my head pop off with excitement as yours is about to do. You missed your medication this morning, didn't you?" She popped open her milk carton. "I will if and only if someone asks me." She smirked, knowing no one would by Friday.

"You know that trick will only go so far. One of your friends is going to end up asking you just so you can go."

The Egyptian rolled her eyes again. "And until one of them does, my plan will continue to work. Joe has his college girlfriend he can ask, and Honda's already busy there. And I know you'll find some poor sap to go with you."

"You've always got Seto to ask you."

She flinched. "He doesn't count as a friend. And he's just not an option. The self-absorbed little prick."

"I don't like that guy and never will," Jonouchi said, stabbing at his brownie.

They talked for a bit longer, allowing each person to finish their lunch. They went out into the busy quad, brushing past the kids rushing around and catching up with their friends.

Nephthys nudged Atem in the side. For only him to hear she said, "This is where I usually go upstairs. Unless you'd like to hear Anzu keep talking."

"Upstairs sounds good," he said quickly, following her up the stairwell. "Though are students allowed up here?"

"No, but they don't enforce it." It was quiet up there, and gave a nice view of the city beyond the fencing. "I came up here near every day last year and no one bothered me."

He decided to get straight to business. "No one's ever asked you to one of the dances before?"

"Seto did all the time, but I turned him down enough for him to leave me alone. I won't go two feet with someone so self-absorbed, let alone to a dance with him." She leaned against the railing, looking out to the busy streets. "Apart from him no one's bothered."

"Will you go with me then?"

She turned around to stare at him. "You don't even know me that well though. Why ask something like that?"

"It's not like I'm asking you to be my girlfriend or something like that. I'm just asking you to a school dance, nothing more. As friends."

After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "The first dance of the year is free anyway. If it's crappy we can leave. Even though Honda's putting together the list, it'll be full of the usual high school drama."

He leaned on the railing too. "Almost forgot about the drama. Regardless, it could be fun."

"We could show up, give our moral support, and duck out. Keep Anzu happy for at least a day."

A voice from behind them made them spin around. "I thought I saw you come up here."

Nephthys sneered. "What do you want Sarah?"

She held up her hands in surrender. "I'd just like to… extend a hand of apology, or some shit like that. I'd like to invite you two to an after party at my house on Friday. Wet party. My brother's providing the booze."

Atem eyed her warily. "And why extend the invitation to us?"

"To show no bad intentions. I was wrong to make fun of her. The party starts at eleven and ends in the morning when everyone has to leave. 'Rents aren't home until Monday and Steven was already planning on throwing a party. Our place is big enough for it." She handed Nephthys an envelope. "Info's in there. We'll be leaving the dance an hour early to head out if you want to follow us."

"I'll be driving so that will be fine," Atem said.

"Great, hope to see you guys there." She put on a sweet smile as she walked away.

"There's something fishy going on here." Nephthys said, looking at the info.

Atem nodded. "Yeah, considering I turned her down after first period today. Maybe she's not one to hold a grudge?"

"Oh no, she is. But I guess this won't be all bad. Something to do. You don't mind what type of party it is, right?"

"Wet party? No, not at all. Better than a dull dry one."

The bell rang, signaling they had to get going for their last classes.

"I'm not sure if I'll see you until tomorrow. Do you have a cell phone or an instant messenger or something?" he asked.

"Oh, cell yeah." She grabbed a pen from her purse and wrote her cell number on his hand. "Kinda an old school move, but I don't have time to dish out paper."

"That's fine. I'll call around 9, if that's ok."

"Yeah. I'll see you later." She picked up her bag and vanished into the thickening crowd, capping her pen as she walked.

_You're getting yourself in deep, my other me._

_You know I have to,_ he thought back, also grabbing his things as he walked in the opposite direction. _And I've told you, you are your own person, such as I am. You can call me by my name, Yugi._


	5. Chapter 5

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 5**

Bes, the newly appointed holder of the Millennium Ring, paced through the palace, searching every corner for a certain boy. "Pharaoh! Oh where could that boy be?" His feet carried him past the library, out into the gardens.

Inside the library, Atem sat looking over a scroll, a bored look on his face. He had returned to his past when he went through the doors after Yugi defeated him, right after the time Zork had been defeated. Because history had changed, and he hadn't ended up sealing himself in the puzzle with the beast, he was able to go back to his life where it originally would have ended. He sighed in boredom, glancing at the summoning plates on his wrists. _Mahado, were all your sacrifices in vain? Just for me to return to power?_

Two years had passed since he returned. Now seventeen, he was responsible for a lot more things. Such as what Bes was pestering him to do now: finding a wife. So to hide from the irritating high priest, he began to immerse himself with the scrolls and books that the library had accumulated over the years by the scribes.

He looked up only when a movement caught his eye. A girl about his age came around the shelf he was hiding behind, carrying a bit of bread and some fruit. Her hazel eyes were as cautious as her movements as she brought the food to him. "I've seen you sneak into here quite a few times, for hours on end. I-I thought you could use something to eat."

It had been a long time since he had eaten that day, yes, and his stomach gave him away instantly. "That's fine, thank you." He looked her over, noticing he hadn't seen her before as she placed the food on the desk with his unread pile. "I haven't seen you around here."

She hid behind a curtain of her black hair. "Forgive me, my King, but I am but a servant girl. You would not need to remember a face such as mine." She glanced at the scroll he had been gazing at and her eyes grew in surprise. "I had no idea Pharaoh was interested in tales of romance."

He was taken aback. "You know how to read?"

She withdrew back. "I'm sorry, I spoke out of place. Excuse me."

"No wait." He stopped her. "_Mara_,how did you know what this was?"

"Rhodopis… it was my favorite tale _Amma_ would tell me as she worked." She still gazed at the uneven floor as she spoke. "Rhodopis was a girl born in Greece but was captured by pirates and sold into slavery in Egypt. The man who bought her was a kind old man, but he slept the days away, and didn't see how the other slave girls tormented her. Because of her eyes and her pale skin, the other girls worked her to the bone." Her hazel eyes shifted up a bit, but when she noticed him staring at her in shock, she averted them once more. "She'd do all the chores and had no friends but the animals. But through all that, she remained happy.

"One day the Pharaoh held court in Memphis, and all his subjects were invited. Really, it was a cover-up for the fact he needed to find a suitor. Rhodopis wanted to go so badly with the other servant girls, but they only piled more chores on her so it was impossible for her to go. As she was cleaning her slippers her owner bought specially for her, a falcon swooped down and stole one of them. She did not despair, for she knew it was Horus, so instead she held on tightly to her other one." She looked up again, but his gaze hadn't wavered. "I apologize, I'm speaking more than I should."

"No, please continue. It sounds like you really love this story. Having it told to me with such intensity makes it more interesting than reading it." He gave her an encouraging smile, letting her know he meant what he said.

Hesitantly, she continued. "The Pharaoh was extremely bored in his court, and was daydreaming of riding in the desert on his chariot, when he was broken out of his daze by a falcon dropping a slipper into his lap. He knew it was a sign from Horus that his match was already predestined, and was not currently present in his court. He searched hard for the woman who the slipper belonged to. He even used his boat to sail up the Nile in search of the woman, stopping at every landing and asking all the maidens to try on the slipper. When he came upon Rhodopis' landing, the other servant girls that always harassed her ran up to the boat. They instantly recognized the slipper but said nothing as they tried it on. Rhodopis herself hid in the brush, but the Pharaoh saw her and called her forward to try. The slipper fit, and she even pulled the other from her tunic. The other slave girls protested when the Pharaoh proclaimed Rhodopis would be his wife, saying she was only a slave and not even an Egyptian.

"He responded 'She is the most Egyptian of all… for her eyes are as green as the Nile, her hair as feathery as papyrus, and her skin the pink of a lotus flower." She finally looked up at him as she finished her story. "It was a tale of forbidden romance that my _Amma_ loved herself. That story is one of the few things I know how to read. As a servant girl I don't need to have such knowledge." She bowed. "I've said too much, forgive me."

He shook his head, more so to clear it. "No, you haven't. It's… nice." She gave him a puzzled look. "It's nice that you aren't the same as all the other servants here. You have thoughts within your head."

"Does… that please you, my Lord?"

"It's a pleasant change, yes." He smiled at her. "What is your name, _Mara_?"

"I am Nephthys, daughter of Nerata."


	6. Chapter 6

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 6**

Friday night came faster than Nephthys realized, as she sat at home readying herself for the dance, and more importantly, the after party.

"When will you be home?" her mother asked through the cell phone plastered up against the young Egyptian's ear.

"Some time tomorrow. We're staying at Anzu's tonight after the dance," she lied.

"And Joe's picking you up?"

"Yeah. But I may get a lift home from someone else in the morning." She adjusted her fishnet stockings, clipping the garters under her skirt to keep the tights from falling.

"All right, just be careful."

"I will like always. Bye." She hung up the phone and tossed it on her bed, slipping into her black heels. She sifted around her sheets for the rest of the outfit.

Just as she was finishing applying her make-up, the doorbell downstairs rang. "Ah hell. Hold on!" she yelled, knowing very well her voice wouldn't carry down. She pulled a black button shirt over her purple cami as she took the stairs as fast as she could in her heels. She opened the door right as Atem was about to ring once more.

He couldn't stop his eyes from widening in surprise for a second. "You… changed fast."

"You don't look so bad yourself," she smiled, nodding towards the white button shirt tucked into jeans that were held up by a black studded belt. "So are you ready for the bumping and grinding hump-fest?"

"Not really, but that's all we'll be hearing tonight." They entered into an awkward silence, but a sharp mental kick in his head made him speak again. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let me just get my purse and lock up." She moved aside to let him stand in the foyer. "I'll be right down."

As soon as she left he was assailed by Yugi speaking in his mind. _Don't mess any of this up._

_I won't. I can't mess up._

_Don't forget what I've sacrificed to fix your past._

Atem winced. _I know. It was a great loss on your part. It is still only temporary though. Both Kaiba and Pegasus will be able to release the illusion they had to cast._

_How sour is Kaiba that he has to hold up the appearance of a school boy again? _He heard Yugi laugh.

_I have him in the last class of the day, and he's not happy at all. His company and Industrial Illusions are still operating smoothly, in secret, under a pseudonym, so he still has his income. _

_How much longer until—_

_Until I can get her to tap back into her old spirit. And for that I need her complete trust and—_

"All right that should just about do it," she said as she came back down the stairs, cutting their internal conversation short. Speaking of short…

"Where did you get those clothes?" he asked, switching his eyes from his previous view to watching her slip her keys in her purse. "Those… aren't exactly dress code."

"I have my sources." She arched a brow. "Don't tell me it's getting you hot and flustered under the collar."

_Try under something else. _"Not at all. But won't someone say something to you?" He followed her out the front door and moved aside to let her finish locking up.

"Oh please. What's the worst thing that'll happen? They kick me out?" She looked out at the other car now residing in her driveway. "Nice ride. A ZX2 Escort. What year?"

"1998." He opened her side for her. "Ladies first."

"Oh, a gentleman, huh?"

He smiled at her. "On the rare occasions."

She got in and adjusted her skirt, giving him the briefest moment of a flash of thigh. "Well then, let's get this over with."

Instead of trusting himself to speak, he nodded and got around to the driver's side. _If I can last long enough to wake you up again._


	7. Chapter 7

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 7**

Atem paced his room in his palace, unable to sleep. He had tossed and turned, trying every which way to get comfortable enough to sleep, but sleep refused to come. His mind was continuously racing, and had been the last two days. He had been meeting with Nephthys in the library every day for two weeks now, teaching her the basics of reading, and sharing stories of their lives, though he tended to leave out the year or so period of his life in the future.

She had also grown quite bold around him. She spoke her mind, and that was something he found alluring about her. All her thoughts and ideas were so well-rounded and put into just the right words. Even the thoughts against a certain advisor.

"_That old codger is always sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong. One day I hope one of his Ka turns on him and refuses to serve such a mortal. And then goes further to trip him and pop his hip out. I'd sell tickets for that."_

Even as he paced he got a slight chuckle out of the thought. But now… Those few hours in the library alone seemed like nothing. However, they could risk no longer without being caught and questioned about their actions. And any late-night meetings would definitely not go unnoticed by the guards. Unless…

He looked out to the seven peaks of the Ka temples. _I wonder…_ He flicked open the wrist plates on his left arm. "Mahado, I seek your assistance." He only had to wait a few seconds before a small beam of light came from his temple, and the image of the magician appeared on one of the plates. Mahado himself materialized in front of him.

"It is late, my Pharaoh. Why are you out of bed and calling to me at this hour?"

Atem started to say something, but changed his thoughts last second. "Have you… ever had someone on your mind, and no matter what you did or how often you saw them, they still remained?"

Mahado's gaze turned from concern to understanding. "Of course. That is why I kept her close and tried teaching her everything I knew. How is she doing in her studies, by the way?"

"Mana is still learning, but she is following in your footsteps the whole way. She misses you greatly."

"I miss her too…" He shook his head. "But why ask such a question? Is there someone who has caught your attention?"

"There is. But I see her only for so long during the day. We can't risk any longer." He looked past the magician, out to the desert night. "She's a servant girl, so the meeting would be frowned upon. And the guards would give her trouble if they knew and she wasn't in my sight. Word would get out to the other servants, and it would not be a pretty sight." He saw Mahado nod out of the corner of his eye before continuing. "I know Mana knows a way to freeze the guards. While I don't want her at my side to aid me in that way and then cast her off to be alone with this girl, I want to know if there's a way for her to lend me that power."

"To sneak this girl into your chambers?"

He couldn't ignore the grin in the former priest's voice, causing him to grow a slight crimson. "I am seventeen now. It's not unheard of to…" Atem shook his head. "Regardless of my intentions, is there a way for the power to be leant to me?"

There is. She has been refining that Ka of hers, the one that takes the form of a blonde-haired girl. She's been slipping a few of her spells into it, and I know that is one of them. If a Ka is smart enough, and has enough of the wielder's spirit, it can be leant to someone. Though the wielder needs to be willing to hand over that Ka." He smiled again. "But I'm sure Mana would be more than happy to help out."

Atem nodded. "Thank you, Mahado. I will seek her out in the morning."

Mahado turned to leave for the temple once more, but stopped. "Will we stop hearing complaints from Bes soon? Of how 'the pharaoh needs to find a wife to make an heir'?"

The young king flushed once more, but chose not to answer.

"I take it that is a 'we will see' answer. Get some sleep, Atem." He faded into nothing, and the image on the plate died away into a blank slate.


	8. Chapter 8

**Faded Memories  
Chapter 8**

The dance had been going on for a few minutes when they arrived. Nephthys let out a sigh as she stepped out of his car. "Hump-fest here we come," she said, rolling her eyes and straightening her cami.

Atem killed the engine and the thumping electronic music cut out. He extended his arm to her once the car was locked up. "Ready?"

"As much as I'll ever be." She took his extended limb in her grasp, making old memories fill his head. They _had_ been this same age when they stood in front of a priest.

_Steady yourself,_ Yugi's voice said to him. _You need her trust in full, and you need it fast._

"What about you?" she asked him as they walked to the gym, already hearing the blasting hip-hop noise.

"We'll be able to kill enough time before we leave." He spotted Sarah's car, which honestly wasn't that hard to find. "You're right, it is a pink Camaro."

"Daddy dearest," she said sarcastically before they opened the doors, stepping into the hormone-infested area. Immediately they were assaulted by Anzu.

"I was so worried you weren't going to show! Jonouchi and Mai are here in the stands already."

"Anzu, were you keeping watch on the door this whole time? And we're only twenty minutes late."

Just then, and arm was lightly draped over her shoulder as she was gently led away. "Excuse us for a moment," Sarah said sweetly.

"For once, I have to thank you," Nephthys said once they were far enough away.

"Think nothing of it. Now then, this date of yours. Is he yours?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that… Yes he's my date."

Sarah laughed. "I mean is he your boyfriend? You two have been getting really close this week."

Nephthys spoke through a stutter. "N-no. Nothing of the sort. I mean he's cute—" Sarah arched a brow at her "—alright, fine, he's drop-dead gorgeous, but I don't think he wants something like that."

"His body language says otherwise." She nodded to where they left him back with Anzu, and Nephthys glanced over to them. His eyes held something she wasn't familiar with.

"He seems more sad than full of longing," she noticed.

"Well then, bring it up. You want to be an item, don't you?"

"Ah, sort of, yeah. Kinda feels like we should be, for some reason." She shook her head. "But why do you want to help?"

"Think of it as… making up for past mistakes. We're ditching this place earlier than expected. So I'll come get you two beforehand."

Nephthys just nodded as Sarah walked off, disappearing back into the crowd of grinding teenagers.

Seeing Sarah walk away was a sign for Atem to join her once more. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah. Hey, think we could talk about something?"

He was about to answer when there was a muffled yell from over the music and Jonouchi approached them. A girl with long and wavy blonde hair followed close behind him.

"Joe! Hey!" Nephthys said as they got closer.

"Awesome that you could make it," the girl said. "Who's your boyfriend?"

"Not boyfriend," the Egyptian answered, "just a date. Mai, this is Atem. Atem, this is Joe's girlfriend Mai."

Mai extended her hand, but retracted it when Atem reached for it, a playful smile on her glossed lips. "I'll be friendly for now. You do something stupid to Neph here and I'll be sure to make your life hell."

He let out a small smile. "Wasn't planning on it."

She eyed him over once more before accepting his handshake. "I'll hold you to it." It was then that Honda had a certain song start playing from his list for the night that made Mai squeal. "Oh c'mon Neph, we've gotta dance this one out!"

Nephthys just rolled her eyes but smiled nevertheless, allowing the blonde to drag her out to the middle of the crowd to dance to "Get Low" by Lil' John. "So would you really make his life hell?"

"Nah, figure I'd just scare him. But he is a cutie; where'd you snag him?"

"Ah, Creative Writing."

They both joined in with everyone yelling "To the window, to the walls" in the unedited fashion, despite Honda needing to play the censored one. It never stopped anyone from yelling the proper rap.

Atem stood a bit stunned, watching Nephthys actually let loose and dance.

The staring didn't go past Jonouchi. "She is surprising, huh?"

"Yeah, didn't expect her to dance to things like this. Though I'll admit, I don't mind any of it."

"So when is Yugi coming back?"

"Soon enou—" He stared at the blonde-haired boy. "You remember?"

Jonouchi just grinned. "It may have worked on everyone else, but I'm too close to Yugi for me to just have him poof out of my life. Doesn't help that you took his body again."

Slightly panicked, Atem pulled Jonouchi to a quieter part of the gym and sat down with him on the edge of the bleachers. "You cannot try to break anyone out of the trance. Promise me that."

"No one's believed me yet. It's about time to stop trying anyway." He shrugged. "Every time you took over Yugi's body before, you were still just as pale as him, just a bit taller. Now you've got what seems to be your original body, in this time period."

"It is Yugi's body, I assure you, and he will be getting it back when this is all said and done. As for why it's more like my original body, that's something we'd have to ask Mahado and Shadi. They're the ones who brought me to this time."

"Why are you here now, and chasing tail?"

Atem bit back a nasty comment and clenched his fist.

_He doesn't know who she once was, my other me. Calm down._

"Atem?"

The pharaoh let out a low breath before he explained himself. "She's not a random choice. I need to right a wrong in my time by bringing her back with me. For that, she needs to remember who she once was, but before that, I need her whole trust. If she remembered now…" He shook his head. "Something happened in Ancient Egypt under my name, though I was not aware of it."

Jonouchi nodded. "You don't need to explain yourself in full. Not yet anyway." He nodded back out to the crowd of dancing teens, close to finishing their "to the window" routine. "Dance with her."

"What?"

"You know how, right?"

"From what I've seen of this era, it's basically grinding against the woman to the rhythm." He looked out at the couples actually dancing, and it was a good summarization. "Doesn't seem hard."

Jonouchi smiled a bit. "After what I'm sure you've had to do in the past, it should be easy."

"Does she even like dancing to this stuff? I don't know much about her from this era right now."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, more than you think. The lyrics suck half the time on this shit, but the beats are what you listen for and move to." He looked out at the girl he thought of as his sister. "That's what moves her. The beats and rhythms of the music. Lyrics on most things don't get to her."

Atem let out a ghost of a smile. "She hasn't changed much then. That's good."

"Well then go get her." He stood and pushed his old friend into the crowd just as "Snake" by R. Kelly started up.

The pharaoh merely sent a small glare back at the other boy before starting forward, nearly tripping over himself as he saw Nephthys dancing to something he never thought she would dance to. "This is a nice surprise," he said in her ear as he got close enough behind her.

She smiled sheepishly, but continued dancing. "If you're here to join me, then by all means have fun."

He timed it just right and joined in swaying with her, his hands on her hips. By watching the other couples, he had picked up pretty fast what was the difference between the dancing and dry humping. It wasn't much difference, from what he saw, but there was something more to it to make it proper to dance like that.

The crowd yelled with the song, "Like two gorillas in the jungle, making love!"

Atem couldn't help but laugh at the words of the song, making Nephthys smile too. She leaned her head back to say, "Yeah, it is a bit stupid, but I listen to the beats more than the words."

"The beats do make up for stupid lines." He looked over at the DJ's table, seeing Honda grinning at him with a smile that unmistakably said "I know something you don't". He repressed a groan.

They continued on with their dancing until the end of the song, when a slow paced song came on and couples instantly stopped their grinding and began to slow dance with their partners. Single people left the floor with their friends to watch, or cry, depending on the amount of drama they had been put in.

Nephthys sent a glare to Honda, whose grin remained. "I knew he'd do this." She moved to leave the floor, but Atem held her in place. "You want to keep dancing? This is more a couple's song, you know." She continued on to wonder why Honda had this particular Usher song on his laptop.

"So? We're a couple right now, aren't we?" To avoid any more odd stares directed at them standing still in the middle of the floor, he began rocking her softly and turning slowly, watching how the others did it. They were all holding each other closely though, making their situation a bit different as she eyed him carefully. "We are on a date, which makes us a couple for now."

"I suppose so…"

"By the way, you wanted to talk about something before Jonouchi showed up?"

Her focus went to the floor. "It's not important right now."

"Something normally doesn't lose its importance in such a short amount of time. Especially when it comes up right after you've been talking to someone who has a tendency to be nasty for no reason at all."

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Well fine then. I want to talk to you about something instead." He made her look at him by putting a finger under her chin. "I wanted to wait at least a week to make sure there was really something there."

"What do you mean?"

"Well when we first met in Creative Writing, I felt a connection to you. It's hard to explain, but it's like I already knew you, and it was so easy to get along with you." It was mostly a lie, but there were some truths woven into his tale. "So I waited a few days to make sure that feeling was really there. I'm sure you noticed the bits of flirting."

She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sort of guilty for doing that too."

"Regardless, what I thought was a fluke was really there, and still is right now. So, before the night fades here into that of the party where we probably won't remember anything, I want to know if you'll go out with me. Officially, of course." He had spent the few hours he had to spare when he got home that day looking up the modern day terms for such a thing. He had to admit, it was easier than courtship.

A faster song came on, once more inviting the others back onto the floor. "Brush Your Shoulders Off" had a certain movement to it that everyone loved doing.

He leaned over so she could hear him. "So what do you say?"

She merely nodded with a large smile, unable to speak.

He grinned and got a bit bolder with his dancing, now comfortable with the era's movements. He pulled her hips to him while they faced each other and began moving in the same way as before, keeping his head bowed to her ear. "That's good to hear. Just in case anything happens tonight, I'll have an excuse to knock someone out if they bother you."

She laughed at that. "Yes I suppose so." She looked over his shoulder and seeing Anzu heading in their direction. "Um, but hey, we need some drinks, let's go." When he looked at her questioningly, she said flatly, "_Now_." She nodded behind him. "Unless you'd like a friendship sp—"

"Hey guys! Isn't it great how all us friends can be together like this?" Anzu said as she got closer, standing between the new couple. "Although we're scattered all over the place doing our own things, it's like we're together. You know that friendship bond we have."

Nephthys forced a grin. "Yeah, feel that bond at work." She added a weak "yay" that Anzu immediately bought as genuine enthusiasm.

"I know! We're all just such great friends to be here for each other! It's like we'll always be there for each other!"

_She never changed, did she? _Atem asked Yugi.

If Yugi could have he would have rolled his eyes. _No, she never did. Friendship this and friendship that. We're hoping it'll die down after graduation, since moving to America didn't snuff it out._

"We were just about to go get some drinks," Nephthys said, pulling him out of his mental conversation.

"Oh, I'll go with you then!"

Nephthys almost visibly cringed. "We were planning on going alone." At Anzu's unwavering happy gaze, she added. "You know, as a duo thing."

Anzu's face faltered for just a minute. Her smile returned soon after though. "But you're coming back, right?"

"Ah, yeah, sure. Oh, but do me a favor. If my mom calls, let her know I'm at your house, all right?"

The girl looked at her oddly. "Why would she believe you'd be at—"

"Please just do it. For me?" She forced herself to add, "For our friendship?"

"Of course, I'll cover up for you." If she was smiling any more, Nephthys was afraid her head would pop off. "That's what friends do."

Once they had finally managed to shake the obsessed girl off, they headed for the lobby of the gym where they were selling sodas and candy. "I'm sorry about that."

"Perfectly fine. But is she, well, all right in the head?"

Nephthys rolled her eyes. "Who knows? All I know is she has some oddball fixation on her friends."

"There you guys are."

They both turned to see Sarah approaching them with a few people trailing behind her. "I'm guessing we're heading out?" Atem asked.

"Yeah. Gonna keep up with us?" Sarah said as the others with her left out the front lobby doors to their respective cars.

"No other choice. Won't be hard to follow yours."

Sarah smiled. "Well then, let the real party begin."


	9. Chapter 9

"Let's run away together!"

Atem had been lying on his back in his bed with an arm draped over his eyes. When Nephthys said this, he moved the arm slightly to peek at her. "What?"

She leaned up on her elbows beside him, her arms covering her bared breasts and the sheet covering booth of them fell down her back a bit. "I said let's run away. Far away from everyone who would scorn us."

He chuckled a bit. "It does sound nice."

She frowned. "I'm serious."

"I know you are. But…" He sighed and sat up. "I'm the last in the line. I have to stay and carry out the Pharaoh's duty. I was an only child and I have no relatives that could take over, and I certainly have no sons."

She rested back down on her folded arms, her hair spreading more fluidly down her back. "I know you're right…"

He saw her disappointment in his response and felt a tug on his heartstrings. "This is how it must be… I'm sorry." He leaned over her form and brushed the black hair off her shoulder so he could place a soft kiss there. "I'm all for abusing rules from time to time," he enticed a giggle from her when he hit a sensitive spot close to her neck, "but neglecting my duties like that is just something I can't do. I can't betray Seto or the other priests. Nor Mana. Nor the fallen priests. I hope you understand."

She sighed, but rolled over under him nevertheless. "I do. But what does that mean for us?"

He furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Will we have to make love in secret," she leaned up and placed a kiss to one side of his neck, "and sneak kisses in corridors," she placed another on the other side, "and treat this as forbidden?"

He knew what she was getting at, and it would be a very risky thing to do. With the current situation of the times, they needed him to marry a princess from another land to expand. While he could have more than one wife, he didn't want that many. Nor did he want a princess in his bed with him. Not a princess by blood, anyway. He knelt back and pulled her into his lap, holding her bare body close. "Give me some more time with that. We'll see how this plays out."

"Bes wants you to marry royalty though."

"Yeah, well Bes can go fuck himself." He heard her let out a quiet snort of amusement.

"I don't want another woman touching you…"

"None will. Just like I don't want another man touching you." He brushed her hair from her face. "We'll figure a way around this. I promise." He felt a tug on his wrist plates, telling him it was time for the spell to be cast once more to get Nephthys back safely. "Mana's ka is ready…" He placed a kiss at the swell of her breasts. The end of the night was always the hardest.

Nephthys sighed. "Oh all right."

They dressed in silence as the spell was cast in the palace, rendering everyone frozen in time. He quickly escorted her back to her chambers to avoid anyone the spell might have missed.

"Until tomorrow then," she said sadly as they exchanged their last kiss for the night.

"I'm going to talk with Seto in the morning, so no lessons." He saw her face fall, but he smiled. "It'll be worth it in the long run, trust me on that. Get some rest." They gave their last goodnights and then departed to get their well-deserved rest.


	10. Chapter 10

Atem sat slumped in his throne around midday, gazing past the dancing concubines Bes had prepared for his entertainment. He sighed as the advisor cleared his throat, clearly admiring the show. "Do they not please you, my Pharaoh?"

"There's something missing in their movements," he lied, just to make it seem like he had been paying attention. "Not enough dedication to it."

Bes frowned. "Well we do have one more woman to dance for your liking. Maybe she shall have more… dedication, as you put it." He clapped twice, motioning to the guards near the door. "Escort these three out and bring the other one in."

Atem fiddled with his puzzle, still not paying attention to the atmosphere. He had been able to talk with Seto when he woke up, and plans were in the works. They wouldn't exactly be the easiest, but the end result would be the same. Soon enough, he and—

He had to do a double take as they brought a familiar woman in the main chambers and tossed her to the floor. From her posture and the costume they had forced her into, he could see fresh whip-marks on her back, still shining with blood.

Bes smirked. "We caught this one roaming the library. Can you imagine? A literate woman, a literate slave no less!" He motioned to the guards again. "Make her face her king and beg forgiveness for traipsing about where she does not belong."

The guards did as the advisor asked, forcing her to her knees and pulling her head back by her hair, making her stare right at Atem. His stomach sank and his heart clenched.

_Oh gods, Nephthys?_

"Well, Slave? Speak!"

When she didn't answer right away, one of the guards pulled harder on her hair. She didn't cry out. Only hissed before forcing out, "I'm sorry, Pharaoh. I forgot my place in this _kingdom_." Her face remained unreadable, but her eyes said everything. _"Is this what we will have to live through here?"_

He swallowed hard, but did not allow himself to give away their relationship. "Why have her dance for me?"

"The more dedication she puts into it, the less lashes she'll get afterward for stepping out of place," Bes answered simply. The guards pushed her forward, up to the throne. Bes put a hand to her chin and inspected her face. Kohl had been applied around her eyes, and earrings were put in, to make her look like she was a dancer. Her hair was pulled back out of her face, and a choker was secured around her neck. "Pity such a fine specimen is reduced to this, wouldn't you agree?"

Nephthys fought the urge to spit in the man's face.

Bes roughly let her go. "Now then, earn your reduction in lashes."

The men that sat in the corner of the room with the instruments began playing, and Nephthys swallowed her miniscule pride and began to dance in front of the Pharaoh, ignoring all the faces in the room but his. Only he saw the unshed tears, and the silent plea for help.

And he at that time lost any and all respect that he held for the man next to him.

* * *

"Ouch! That hurts!"

"Just hold still awhile longer."

Hours had passed since the incident in the hall. Now, well into the night, Nephthys laid naked, face down on his bed as he applied a salve to the welts. Anger simmered in his gut at the actions of today, but none made him more angry than his own.

"I'm so sorry I didn't intervene."

She hissed as he placed the salve on the deepest of the wounds. "It's better that you didn't." She rested her head back on her folded arms. "It was my mistake, so it's my burden to bear."

"Yes, but as your husband, I need to protect you."

She smiled. "When you become my husband, yes. Until then, I am a nobody who should know her place." Her smile faded. "If they were to find out now that your lover is a slave girl, I'd be put to death without any witness's words of binding."

"But—"

"Isn't this how all the slave woman who step out of line are treated? Aren't they all whipped and reprimanded for their actions?" She took his silence as an answer. "Therein lies my point. If you had stepped in and intervened on my account, they would grow suspicious. Start following you around more."

He didn't notice that by then he had covered all the welts, and was absentmindedly rubbing at her skin softly. "Seto agreed to marry us."

She turned her head slightly to look at him. "He did?"

"Yes. It will just take a few more days to prepare a few things, but we could wed before the week is out. If that is what you choose."

"It is, but what about you?"

"It is for me as well. But to everyone else, we will still remain who we are during the day."

She frowned, chewing on her lip in thought. "Would there be any way for us to get away for a few days?"

"What are you plotting?"

"Well, if we could leave here for a few days, every once in awhile, we'd be able to have time alone . I just don't know what's beyond the palace."

He smiled. "We'll think of something."


	11. Chapter 11

**Faded Memories**

**Chapter 11**

**Present day**

(songs to play: "U Drive Me Crazy" by Waldo's People, "Europop" by Eiffle 65)

**

* * *

**

They followed Sarah into an area they really hadn't expected. Nephthys always assumed the prep lived in a gated community, in a big house. The only thing that was true was the big house part.

The pink Camaro led them through back roads that eventually gave way to thick woods. They traveled for a good twenty minutes before they saw her turn signal taking them down a lonely looking road.

"How much you want to bet she's leading us to our death?" Nephthys said, looking out at the darkness.

"She wouldn't bring this many people if that was the thing," Atem answered, jabbing his thumb behind them. They had gathered a long train behind them of about fifteen cars, each holding at least two to five people.

Sarah turned her signals on again as she turned up a long driveway, leading to a very immaculate and large house.

He let out a low whistle. "Guess you weren't lying about the fact her father has money."

"Didn't think it was that much. Houses back here are a lot of money. And the properties are always huge. I don't think she's got a neighbor for a mile."

"Perfect for a party then."

Cars already littered the front lawn from her brother's guests, and loud, thumping music came from the house. Nephthys grinned. "Sounds like our kind of party."

Atem just nodded as he pulled onto the grass and cut the engine.

_Getting her trashed probably isn't the best way to get her to trust you, I hope you realize._

_I know that, Yugi. But what else can I do? We'll see how this plays out tonight._

_If you say so…_

"Well, guess we should go in while she's still in her good-natured mood," Nephthys said as she unhooked her seat belt and opened the door. "Though would be a good idea if we lock the doors."

"Oh, right." He got out as well, both of them locking up before heading into the house with the crowd from the dance.

Sarah led the way through a mass of college students, leading them to a young man on a laptop that was hooked up to the speakers. "Yo, Steve!"

The man looked up. "Hey, Sis. So I see you brought a bunch with you too!" He pointed towards the kitchen, where they saw another young man pouring drinks. "Butch just got out of bartending school, ask him for anything you want!"

"Sure, I'll pass word around!" With that she turned around and went to inform her guests and have the word spread around.

Nephthys took a look around and only felt a little uncomfortable. Couples a few years older than them were in corners making out, and she even saw one disappear upstairs, holding back fits of giggles. She shrugged. "Well at least we know there's retreat rooms, huh?"

Atem laughed. "Not like we'll really need it."

She began dancing to the rhythms, seeing as they were much better songs than what Honda had to play at the dance. "Come on, dance with me. I know you know how to dance to this."

"Not so much without my sticks, but I'll manage." They joined in on the others dancing, using similar moves to the ones at the school dance. Unlike the others around them, he managed to keep his hands to himself. For the most part. A tap on his shoulder made him glance around, and he saw the grinning mug of Jonouchi.

"Fancy meeting you guys here!"

Nephthys jumped and spun around, still being held on to by Atem. "Joe? The hell are you doing here?"

Jonouchi jerked his thumb over his shoulder where Mai was talking to Butch. "The perks of having a college girlfriend. She's friends with both Butch and Steve, so we heard about this thing a week ago. How are you guys here?"

"Sarah invited us, surprisingly."

He arched a brow. "The bitch who's had it out for you all year up and decides to invite you guys to a college party? I don't know, sounds fishy."

She shrugged. "Well until she shows the fishy side, I figure I'll have fun." She looked down and blushed, having forgotten all about the fact she had been dancing so close to Atem. "Um, so how about drinks?"

"Mai's getting ours since she knows more about booze. Maybe ask her what to get."

She nodded. "Yeah, we'll do that." She lightly tugged Atem's arms off her, but held on to one of his hands, leading him towards the makeshift bar. "Mai, helluva place to find you."

Mai just winked at them. "I should be the one saying that to you." She took her drinks from Butch. "So what would you minors like to get drunk with?"

"Something that doesn't taste horribly like liquor." Nephthys scrunched up her nose. "I like the effects, but not the getting there."

Mai grinned. "All right. Butch! Hook her up with a Malibu Bay Breeze!" She looked to Atem. "You have a problem with the taste of alcohol?"

He shook his head. "Not so much. Whatever works."

"Gotcha. Butch!"

"What!" the young man yelled back, in the process of shaking the mix for Nephthys' drink. "I'm working on the damn Breeze! I just graduated yesterday, don't forget!"

"No not that, you're doing fine! You remember how to do a Grateful Dead?"

Butch stopped shaking and quirked his brow, looking at Nephthys. "She's too small for a few of those! Hell, too small for one of them!"

Mai pointed to Atem. "No, no! She'll be fine with the Breeze. The Dead's for him!"

Butch poured the Bay Breeze into a cup and gave Mai an OK sign. "Coming right up!"

She grinned and turned to the new couple. "Trust me, these are perfect for you guys."

Jonouchi picked up his drink and held on to Mai's waist. "She may have only hit twenty-one half a year ago, but she's got these things down easy."

She winked again. "It helps when you have a bartending license." She nodded towards Butch. "I helped him out a bit, but it's not so hard once you learn what liquor counts as what. There's so many damn brands that can count for whiskey, gin, vodka, tequila, triple sec, stuff like that. That's the main thing that everyone has trouble with, I think."

"All right, one Breeze and one Dead. Drink up!" Butch said, putting the drinks on the counter.

The two took their respective drinks and tried them, instantly taking another few sips each, making Mai laugh. "Those will end up doing the trick, but you might need a few more to get there."

"Probably another two each," Butch said before he had to take another order.

"So, what do you guys think?" she asked, taking a sip of her own martini.

"Excellent," Nephthys said. "All I can taste is pineapples. Thanks for the suggestion." She looked to Atem. "What about yours?"

"It packs a punch, I'll say that much."

Mai smirked. "That's a mix of vodka, gin, and a few other liquors. With your body type, yeah, another two will knock you into a drunken state." She tugged on Jonouchi's arm, leading him back out to the crowd of grinding young folks. "Come on you two!"

Atem shrugged and put away another few gulps, shaking his head from the kick the alcohol gave it before pulling Nephthys back out to the crowd as well.

She merely laughed and held her cup to her mouth, intent on finishing the first one fast. She looked at his eyes and had to put a hand to her forehead as a sudden dizzy spell hit her. _This feels… familiar, somehow._

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Just a random spell, I'm good."

He looked at her oddly for a second before shrugging. "If you say so."

She grinned wickedly. "I do say so." She turned around, pressing her back against him, and reaching around to hold on to his neck, making him slightly choke on his last sip.

"You're sure you're fine?"

"Of course. We're at a party, learn to have fun."

"Well, it seems you two have gotten a bit more cozy with each other," Sarah said, approaching them from the side. "Having a good time?"

"Yeah, this is great," Nephthys said, releasing her soft hold and dancing normally again. "Thanks again for putting past issues in the past."

"No problem. What were you two drinking, I'll get you another one."

"Oh, sure, was a Grateful Dead for him and a Malibu Bay Breeze for me."

Sarah smiled sweetly and took their cups. "I'll be right back with those." They didn't notice her snigger as she walked away.

"That was oddly nice," Atem said, narrowing his eyes. "A bit too nice."

Nephthys shrugged. "Go with it. Who knows? She's probably being nice to get her new target of the night."

It only took about ten minutes for Sarah to come back with their red cups. "All done!"

"Really Sarah, you didn't need to," Atem answered, taking his cup.

"What kind of hostess would I be if I didn't tend to my guests?" Her face brightened. "Ah, speaking of which, I should check on the others. If you'll excuse me."

"Yeah, sure," Nephthys answered, taking a few sips of her new drink. "See, maybe she has had some sort of epiphany."

"I don't know…"

"Oh have fun."

At her insistence, he put away some of his drink before moving with her again. Halfway through though, he started to feel different. And it wasn't a drunk sort of different either. "Ah hell…" It was then he realized she had been dancing a bit more loosely. "Shit. Neph, we have to go somewhere." He looked at her cup and saw it was empty.

"Mm, but it's so much fun here." She looked at him with hooded eyes. "Do we really need to go somewhere."

He put his cup down and hauled her up the stairs, looking for a door furthest down the hall that wasn't occupied. "Sarah put something in the drinks."

Nephthys giggled. "Why are you so tense? Loosen up a bit." She reached around his waist, her hand starting to wander.

He caught it and pulled her into the room. "Trust me, I'd love to." He closed the door and locked it, checking to make sure the room wasn't already in use. "Should stay in here until we can figure out what she put in it." He left her in the main room to check the adjoining bathroom, seeing the door that lead to the hall. As a precaution, he locked that too. "Okay, that should keep anyone out— Neph, what the hell are you doing?"

He had gone back into the main room, seeing she had discarded her shirt and was sitting on the bed. "Come on, you can't tell me this isn't what you want."

He looked away. "At another time, maybe. Not now. Neph, you're not yourself, and neither am I."

She snorted and motioned for him to come sit next to her. "Isn't that how tonight is supposed to end?"

He obliged, but wasn't expecting her to straddle his waist and push him on his back. "Neph, listen to me. You and I have been drugged. I can't do this with you screwed up. There's too much at stake."

"Oh you and your excuses. What, are you afraid we'll both suck at this?"

"No, that's not what my excuse is for— ah, _balashs_!" He screwed his eyes shut as she reached behind her and applied pressure to a certain bulge.

"Enough? Are you so sure? This could be great for both of us…" she purred.

_Yes, I remember just how great…_ He shook his head. "I'm sure it can be, and that it will eventually. But I can't take advantage of you. There's something you need to remember first."

She frowned. "Remember?"

"Yes. You need to remember something that will probably throw you off kilter. But it's the reason I'm here for you. I can't risk that by taking advantage of you."

"That's not going to stop the effects of the drugs, you know. Something needs to be done before it gets too bad."

"That's our only problem. I know what type this is, considering the effects we have now. Before it gets to that point, you need to remember." He sat up, holding her in his lap. "Nephthys, do you trust me?"

Her brows knitted together in confusion before she nodded. "Yes, I trust you. But what is this all about?"

He put two fingers to her forehead, where her third eye would be. "No matter what, I've got you. Don't forget that."

She wasn't given a chance to respond as the room melted around her into darkness, and the feeling of his protective grasp faded. "Atem?" Her voice echoed off hidden walls. "Atem, this isn't funny!" She shuffled a bit until she felt a solid surface, and then started following it forward. An indent in the wall gave way to a door, and she opened it with a bit of force. The room started out dark, but eventually faded into focus. She was in a library of sorts, in a very hot and dry location.

"What is your name, _Mara_?"

"I am Nephthys, daughter of Nerata."

"What?" Nephthys whispered, shuffling closer. She turned a corner to see a spitting image of her and Atem, in the corner of the library, talking about things she had difficulty keeping up with, since the speech was in Coptic. "But that's… that's impossible." She reached out to touch her ancient double, but the image faded to black, once more leaving her in a dark room. "Atem, this isn't funny, seriously, stop this!" She shuffled back into the hall, feeling for another indentation in the walls. She found one, but had to shove against it with her shoulder really hard to open it.

Inside, she found a figure, sitting in a chair, the room dimly lit by a single torch. "You need to remember. Until then, I cannot let you out." He stood and came into the light of the torch.

"Atem?" She squinted, and really had to look at him to recognize him. He was in the garb favored by ancient Egyptian pharaoh, instead of the white shirt and jeans getup she had last seen him in. "What is this?"

He put a hand to his puzzle. "These are my memories. What you saw was the day we first met, three thousand years ago."

She took a step back. "You're pulling my leg."

Atem shook his head sadly. "I wish I was." The eye on the puzzle glowed, and the room illuminated to that of chambers of the royal family.

On the bed, she saw the two of them, far from asleep and intertwined on top of the sheets. "This can't…"

"We had a past. We had a future too."

"What?"

Atem nodded towards the bed, where their past forms finally went still, catching their breath. "A week after this, we wed under the eyes of Preist Seto."

"Kaiba?"

He smiled. "Yes. It's good to know he's been keeping watch over you while this transfer was in process. It took a very long time to find your reincarnated form, and even longer to use the technology of the Duel Disks to wipe the memory of your city so this could be done."

"Jo—Jonouchi was telling the truth?"

"For the most part. Neph, something happened in our past that I didn't do. I swear on my father's grave it wasn't my doing."

She looked at him. "What wasn't?"

He shook his head and walked towards her. "That part isn't the important bit right now. Now, I need you to remember this. The emotions, the physical feelings. Everything."

"But… how?"

He pulled her close and tilted her chin up with his finger. "By trusting me." He closed the space between them, kissing her softly at first, gradually bringing both of their spirits back into their bodies.

Once back, she felt the effects of the drugs once more, and apparently, so did he. Though that wasn't the only thing she felt. Nephthys pulled back for a minute. "I remember… You were hiding from Bes. He wanted you to marry and create an heir and had been harassing you for a few days. Each time you'd escape to the library, where he never expected you to be."

Atem smiled. "That's exactly right. _Habibti_, you've come back to me."

She had a million and one questions to ask, but a sudden flush of pressure flashed below her navel, kicking her off balance. "What do we do now?"

"We do the dance that we have been doing for centuries. And one I've missed for far longer."


	12. Chapter 12

**Faded Memories**

**Chapter 12**

**Past**

* * *

"Ah, we shouldn't be doing this! What if Mana comes back?"

"She won't see anything."

Nephthys tilted her head back with a moan of delight as Atem nipped at her flesh, pressing her further against the wall next to Mana's studies laying out on the table. "She'd see everything."

"The door is not quiet by any means. Relax yourself." He resumed his ministrations, hiking one of her legs up over his hip, causing the fabric of her slave's clothes to ride up her thigh.

"But it's midday, and you should be having your ears chewed off by Bes and the priests right now." She let out a soft moan as he hit a tender spot. "They'll be looking for you."

"They won't think to look for me here. Calm down. I want to see and feel more of my wife than just at night. Grant me at least that reprieve."

Just as he was about to dip his head lower, the door at the top of the stairs burst open, and light filled the entire room. The two jumped apart, thinking only to see Mana, but Atem's heart leapt to his throat as he saw the man he wanted to see the least.

"There you are, Pharaoh. We were wondering—" Bes cut himself short as he realized his king was not alone. "What is the meaning of this?"

Nephthys hid her face in shame, but Atem stood in front of her in a protective manner. "It's nothing, Bes. She was curious about some things she had overhead Mana discussing, and I decided to show her—"

"Show her what? Show a slave woman how to conjure archaic magics?" He narrowed his eyes. "Priests, judge her soul."

"I will not permit it!" Atem said back.

"And why would that be? She could be a danger to us all, what with that curiosity of hers." He looked to the young woman. "Actually, isn't she the one we caught in the library a few weeks ago?" He grinned. "Yes, I remember those fearful eyes very well." He looked to the priest carrying the Millennium Ankh. "Judge her soul."

The priest nodded. "Pharaoh, if you would please step aside."

Atem ground his teeth together in frustration, but to avoid letting their true relationship come to light, he had to obey.

The priest held up the ankh and it began to glow as he traveled into the first corridor of her mind. "There are no dark intentions about her. Only light. A feeling of intense emotions."

Bes frowned. "Metkah, read her thoughts with the Eye."

Another man nodded and stepped forward as the first priest withdrew from her mind. The eye beneath his hood began to glow as well. "She has a strong stone barrier, but I sense no evil behind her thoughts. There is, however, a source of power hidden behind the stone."

This made Bes grin. "Really now?" He turned back to the hall. "Guards, escort our young maiden here to the dungeons."

"Bes! What is the meaning behind this?" Atem snapped as the guards came down the stairs and grabbed Nephthys' arms. "I said leave her be!"

"Yes, but you know you shouldn't be alone. Especially not now. What would the suitors think? A Pharaoh brazenly showing his, ah, family jewels to random slave girls is not something Kings are intending for their daughters." He smiled in a knowing way. "Nor are they looking for someone who is already tied down."

Atem's eyes widened, and he noticed Seto cast his gaze away in shame. He sneered at the man. "What have you been told?"

"Nothing as of yet," he said as they pulled Nephthys out of the room. "But your lack of denial has just told me everything. I, as your advisor, have to do things that are in your best interest, remember?" He folded his arms behind his back as the priests departed. "We will inform you of our final judgment upon the girl, but if I were you, I'd listen to reason and remarry, this time a proper princess."

Atem growled as Bes strode away, slamming his fist into the desk next to him. Due to circumstances, even with his standing he was not allowed to interfere. Since Metkah had found some sort of power, it would be extracted from her if they found it of any use. _I swear to the gods, this isn't over._


End file.
